Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association second AGM tomorrow

The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) is to hold its 2nd Annual General Meeting tomorrow at Hotel Ramada.

Hussain Sadique, Group Director of Hameedia and Leonard Perera, Founder Convener and Head of Business of SLRA founded the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) 3 years ago in October 2015 together with leading business people and professionals of top corporates to form the apex body in retailing which is much needed for the retail industry. SLRA was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in June 2016, and operates under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce as the SLRA Secretariat since September 2016.

SLRA’S vision is to achieve ‘Retail Excellence’ and its mission is to be the ‘Voice of Retail’ in Sri Lanka. It represents over 40 corporate members in diverse sectors varying across FMCG, clothing, fashion and jewelry, household and onsumer durables, footwear and accessories, E-commerce, entertainment and QSR and healthcare.

SLRA’S purpose is to provide a forum where retailers can work together to improve standards of retailing in an inclusive manner, improve consumer experience and service in all facets of retailing, and aim to facilitate the growth of the retail industry through innovation and sharing of global best practices. SLRA also engages in government advocacy in matters impacting retailers in Sri Lanka.

The green retail initiative is one such engagement, where the SLRA is working with the Ministry Of Environment, the Central Environmental Authority, and the Consumer Affairs Authority to reduce polythene and plastic usage at supermarkets/retail outlets. The SLRA also lobbied for the tourism VAT refund scheme which was implemented earlier this year.

In addition, the SLRA organises forums such as Retail Academy (Retail Leadership Excellence Programme) and Sri Lanka Retail Forum to facilitate knowledge sharing and networking within the industry. Furthermore, the SLRA organises shopping festivals such as the Colombo International Shopping Festival, and Colombo Christmas Street, to promote Sri Lanka as a retail destination.